‘We wouldn’t say no’: Five keen to kick off reunion tour with Glastonbury slot
The band will embark on a 12-date tour beginning in October.
Boyband Five have said they “wouldn’t say no” to kicking off their reunion tour with a performance at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.
It comes after the group announced they would reunite with their original line-up for the first time in 25 years.
The group – made up of Abz Love, J Brown, Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson and Sean Conlon – have performed as a four piece and with three of their original members following the band’s break-up, but have not fully reunited since splitting in 2001, when they were just a three-piece.
Speaking to the PA news agency about the possibility of a spot at Worthy Farm, Conlon said: “We don’t want to get carried away, if it came, it would be unbelievable, we wouldn’t say no.”
The group were also keen to reunite with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, who they performed with during their original run together, and recorded a cover of the band’s We Will Rock You, but said nothing had been planned yet.
Robinson told PA: “Now we’re talking, come on Brian, get your old guitar out, let’s be having you.”
It comes after the five-piece said they got back together in an AirBnb to meet up again as friends, before realising they had “unfinished business” and the reunion was on.
Neville told PA: “It was a wonderful moment, as I said, within 10 seconds of seeing each other, we were like, ‘wow, boys, there’s still something special in the air’.”
Robinson added: “It was nerve wracking after so many years, not just for trepidation or negativity, but it’s just like it was such a huge, huge thing, a big moment.
“But then the magic was there within us, and we just thought, after spending a bit of time together, it was just like we could do something here.”
Five will embark on the 12-date Keep On Movin’ tour this year, starting at the Brighton Centre on October 31 and running until November 16, when the group will play the tour’s final gig at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro.
Along the way the band will also perform at London’s O2 Arena, Cardiff’s Utilita Arena and Manchester’s AO Arena, supported by DJ Naughty Boy.
The band will treat their fans to some of their biggest hits during the shows such as If Ya Gettin’ Down, Keep On Movin’ and Everybody Get Up.
Five said their fame had been “instant” in the 1990s when they formed and said they related to the struggles of getting famous at a young age evidenced in the BBC’s Boybands Forever documentary series, which some of their number featured in.
Neville told PA: “I think becoming famous at a really early age, look at any child star and name anybody that hasn’t then gone through some kind of transition mentally or had to break through some kind of war or didn’t make it.
“So maybe it’s something we need to look into a little bit for what fame does to a young brain.”
Love said he would advise young people starting out in music to “think about it” rather than “rushing in”, but the band said they thought the industry was “nicer” in the current day than back in the 1990s.
Brown said the group would be reuniting with a new-found appreciation for each other.
He told PA: “Back in the day, we really didn’t appreciate, not what was going on, but each other, how special it is, what we’ve got, and that’s what we’ve got now.
“The energy was good back then, without that appreciation, but now we’ve got it, and just looking at each other what we’ve been through, I bet there’ll be some tears.”
Formed in 1997, Five have sold more than 20 million records worldwide, with all 11 of their singles featuring in the top 10 of the UK singles chart, and they also had four UK top 10 albums.
The group has charted in almost 20 countries, and their reunion also comes 25 years after they won the Brit Award for best pop act in 2000.
Tickets for the tour will go on general sale on March 7 at 10am via www.itsfiveoffical.com, with an exclusive pre-sale on March 5.
– Five’s Keep On Movin’ tour in full
Friday, October 31 – Brighton, Brighton Centre
Saturday, November 1 – Bournemouth, BIC
Sunday, November 2 – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
Tuesday, November 4 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena
Wednesday, November 5 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
Friday, November 7 – Manchester, AO Arena
Saturday, November 8 – Leeds, First Direct Arena
Sunday, November 9 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
Tuesday, November 11 – London, The O2
Friday, November 14 – Newcastle, Utilita Arena
Saturday, November 15 – Aberdeen, P&J Live
Sunday, November 16 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
